


Circle of Life

by Vulpes_Incendium



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 70s, 80s, Childhood Friends, F/M, Homophobia, Lion King (1994) References, M/M, Mafia AU, Organized Crime, Racism, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26183677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vulpes_Incendium/pseuds/Vulpes_Incendium
Summary: 1973, San Francisco Chinatown, Yao Wong, leader of Red Dragon, the most powerful triad in San Francisco, ruled the underground network of  California, earning him the name “Emperor of West Coast”. His adoptive brother Kiku Honda killed him out of jealousy and took over his position, leaving Yao's 9-year-old son Leon Kirkland-Wong to flee for his life. Leon was found and brought up by two strangers, Gilbert Beilschmidt and Feliks Łukasiewicz in Minnesota and started to learn about his identity, heritage and sexuality. Mafia AUInspired by Disney's The Lion King
Relationships: China/Female England (Hetalia), Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Hong Kong/Iceland (Hetalia), Poland & Prussia (Hetalia)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue: Birth of a New King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dai gor 大哥 (Cantonese)/ Hyung 형 (Korean) = Big brother  
> Jeh 姐 (Cantonese)= Big sister  
> Dai sou 大嫂 (Cantonese) / Hyungsu-nim 형수님 (Korean) = Big sister-in-law
> 
> Please see end notes for explanation of Leon's, Yao's and Hsiao-Mei's names.  
> Cantonese is used for the this fanfiction.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not condone organised crimes, nor am I trying to romanticise Mafias or justify their wrongdoings. These organisations ruined people's lives and live on taking advantage of people. However, I believe exposure to them is important so that people would understand how terrible they are. Most of my knowledge on organised crimes are from drama and films, as the triads in my hometown appear not so often as some in other countries. Triad and police films are the most popular genres in where I'm from, we grew up watching a lot of them and learn to believe justice is always served. I personally have no problem villainising our beloved Hetalia characters, as I see them as actors. Mafia was chosen as the background for dramatic effect because there aren't many situations in modern days similar as such. Besides, this story will be focusing on the growth of Leon (aph Hong Kong) and his journey through discovering his identity, his heritage and sexuality. With that being said, please enjoy the story.

__

_July 1_ _st_ _, 1964, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco_

“Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Wong, it's a boy!”

The nurse handed the newborn to his parents, observing the heart-warming scene in front of her. “I'll leave you to it!” She gave the interracial couple a quick glance before leaving the private room, trying very hard not to show any signs of judgement, knowing the identity of the couple.

“Yao, my dear, he looks just like you. He has your eye! Isn't he gorgeous?” Alice said excitingly to her husband, as she gazed at her son's glimmering gold eyes. The baby's watery eyes were barely opened, but the golden tint he inherited from his father was clear.

“He is absolutely beautiful, as beautiful as you are, my rose.” Yao smiled and gave his wife a kiss. “Thank you so much, I could not ask for a better wife and son.” He rested his head on her shoulder, stroking her long, blond hair, smoothing the curls at the end of her hair, though they always bounced back.

Alice blushed. After all the years of being with Yao, she still got flustered every time her husband showed any signs of affection, as he is not a man of romance. “Ah, this again. You never change, do you?” She joked, nudging at her husband's stomach lightly, careful not to startle the baby.

“Well it's the truth! It's true that I am the luckiest man on Earth!” said Yao. He looked out of the window to the warm glow of the morning sun, reminiscing the olden days when they first met. The thought of their entire family surrounding them came to his mind, he imagined all the laughter, joy and tears that were seemingly too far to reach. “I just wish our parents could witness this moment, they would be so proud of their grandson.” He sighed.

Alice tried not to let her smile falter, “I'm sure your parents would be proud. They're watching over us from heaven.”

Yao turned and looked at Alice with a certain gaze. “Your father would be proud too.” The statement left both of them in silence. He knew the topic of her relationship with her father was always sensitive to her, but he wanted to reassure his wife that their dispute would eventually be settled.

As Yao was trying to think of something to say to change the mood, the door was banged open. A loud voice greeted them as three figures walked into the room. “ _Hyung_! _Hyungsu-nim_! Where's the baby? Show me the baby!” A tall, young man shouted, while jumping towards Yao for a hug.

“Aiyah, Yongsoo be quiet! You're scaring the baby!” Yao exclaimed as he was trying to get rid of his tight embrace as always, he failed every time. When Yongsoo finally let him go, he pulled down his deep red shirt that slipped out because of his cousin’s excessive movements, tucked it back into his pants and fixed his gold necklace with a jade Guanyin pendant back to place.

“Oh Yongsoo your nephew is right here! You can hold him, but be gentle!” Alice smiled, as she handed the baby to Yongsoo. Noticing the other two persons with her cousin-in-law, she gave them a gentle nod. “Kiku and _Ah-_ Mei! You're here too.”

Kiku stepped forward as Hsiao-Mei tried to find space to put down the gift they brought for the newborn. “ _Dai gor_ , Alice- _jeh_ , congratulations. You must be very tired. Hsiao-Mei and I brought you some soup and some toys for the baby.” Kiku's eyes wandered past the baby and landed on Alice, he smiled at her, to which Alice awkwardly smiled back.

“Oh you really don't need to, Kiku. That's too nice of you. _Ah-_ Mei made the soup?” Yao patted his brother's shoulder, smiling, breaking Kiku's gaze on Alice.

“Of course I did, _dai gor._ I wouldn't trust Kiku with it. Too much salt isn't good for new mothers.” Hsiao-Mei joked, sticking her tongue out at her husband.

Kiku nodded as assurance of his wife's humor. “Hsiao-Mei is definitely more trustworthy than me on that.” He turned his attention to Alice and the new-born, studying the face of his new nephew. The cute round face, the already thick eyebrows, definitely inherited from his mother, the almost shimmering eyes... The sight brought a gentle smile on Kiku's face. “Alice- _jeh_ , may I hold the baby?”

Alice stiffened. “S-sure. Yongsoo, it's Kiku's turn now.” Her gaze would not leave her son as he was handed over to his uncle. Uneasiness started to build up in her stomach, but she tried to suppress it. She didn't want to ruin this peaceful family moment. Somehow, she often had a weird feeling whenever her brother-in-law was around, yet she could not quite place a reason for it. “Just... make sure to be careful.”

“Don't worry _dai sou_ , I have a reflex like a ninja, I won't drop him.” Kiku joked and the other three laughed. Alice forced a smile.

“So have you named the baby yet?” asked Yongsoo, as he was making funny faces to get the baby's attention.

“Oh yes, his name is Leon Ka Long Kirkland-Wong.” Yao said proudly.

Yongsoo gasped dramatically and stared at Yao in disbelief. “ _Hyung_ , that's a mouthful! Poor boy has to write that long-ass name on every assignment he has? You two are cruel.” Shaking his head, pretending to be disappointed.

“ _Aiyah_ , you are so shallow. There's a deep meaning to his name!” Yao hit Yongsoo on his head lightly, enough not to ruin his freshly gelled hair.

“Lion and dragon.” Alice added softly. “Mighty as a lion, powerful as a dragon.”

Hsiao-Mei held Alice's hand, gently smiled. “It's a beautiful name and a good mixture of the west and the east.”

Yao turned to Hsiao-Mei and gave her a nod of approval. “Exactly the point. Yongsoo you should learn from your cousin-in-law.”

“You all are ganging up on me. No fair!” The Korean man pouted. He turned to the baby in Kiku's arm, forging a crying face, nose crinkled, “Little Leon, did you see how your poor uncle is treated in this household? You need to grow up quickly and fight with your uncle Yongsoo against these baddies!”

Laughters filled the hospital room with warmth and happiness that day, as the family gathered together to celebrate the birth of the new family member. They all appreciated that the newborn brought the family together and were excited to witness the beginning of a new era.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wong Ka Lung Leon (western order: Ka Lung Leon Wong) is the most accurate name for HK. Lung means Dragon and Leon means Lion, it shows his history perfectly.  
> See this post to learn more:  
> https://vulpes-incendium.tumblr.com/post/625696417226375168/regarding-my-post-about-hong-kongs-human-name-i
> 
> In this story, they would be speaking Cantonese within the the gang. China's name would be romanised as “Wong Yiu” in Cantonese, but I'm keeping Yao for simplicity. Wong Yao is weird I know, but that’s the best I could do... I use Hsiao-Mei instead of Xiao Mei because Taiwan didn't start using the Hanyu pinyin (the romanisation system China uses now) until 2009 I believe, so I want to keep it authentic.
> 
> I've always wanted some Cantonese representation in the Hetalia community, and I think this is the best opportunity. To my knowledge, a lot of the American immigrants of Chinese descent at that time were Cantonese, a lot from Hong Kong I believe (Canada definitely) as they fled the war and later communist China. Plus, I'm going to make some Kung Fu references and mafia... TRIAD... Wouldn't you think of HK films immediately? So yea, I'll try to keep the Cantonese here minimal, so that it won't get too complicated. (I can do some easy phrases in Cantonese at the end of each chapter if you're interested)
> 
> FEMALE IGGY ALSO HAS THICC BROWS OKAY? LEON'S BROWS SO THICC ONE CAN SEE IT RIGHT AFTER HE WAS BORN.
> 
> Edit: btw, i based the book cover on the poster of the lion king movie, can you see the resemblance?


	2. Chapter 1: Coronation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dai gor 大哥= Big brother (it could mean eldest brother, but also to a male figure you look up to: Jackie Chan's nickname is “Dai Gor”, or like in this story, leader of a gang. Gang members would more likely to use the “bro-ish” version “dai lo” 大佬, but I'm keeping it simple here, just dai gor. You can also nickname someone by the last word of his name + “gor”, so Yao would be “Yao-gor”, Leon/Ka Lung would be “Lung-gor”, but that's really old-school, it's mostly for mid-aged men or in gangs, they consider each others family, but this doesn't work in actual families lol)  
> Jeh 姐 = Big sister (female nickname works the same, see above, except big sister would be dai ga jeh 大家姐 instead of dai jeh)  
> Sai lo 細佬 = Little brother
> 
> Keung is an oc

_October 9th_ _, 1964, Chinatown, San Francisco_

Laughters and smell of alcohol filled the hall as the gang members of the Red Dragon and its allies gathered at the largest hotel the Wongs were affiliated with, celebrating Leon's 100-Day Birthday. Sound of glass clinking, utensils hitting plates could be heard accompanied with cheers. It was a joyous moment for the gang members to dine together without needing to be cautious of potential attacks from enemy gangs. Guests came to Yao and Alice in turns to congratulate the pair and have a good look at the newborn.

“I have never seen a mixed-raced baby before! He is absolutely adorable!” A guest complimented.

“Look at those eyes Yao- _gor_! They are just like yours! Shining like molten gold!” A gang member exclaimed.

Yao accepted the compliments from his guests with a big, warm smile. “Leon is indeed really precious. I must say my woman here has done a very good job. Haha!” He wrapped his arm around Alice's waist, looking into her eyes proudly. She looked absolutely breathtaking today with her navy silk cheongsam, different from her usual fashion, it hugged her slim figure nicely, accentuating her thin waist, her hair tied up in a neat bun, she was radiating elegance. Yao looked at Alice in awe, admiring the beautiful woman in front of him, whom he had the honor to call his wife.

Alice's cheeks reddened. It was these kinds of gestures from her husband that she adored the most. They were subtle, but significant, as she understood that Asians, let alone leaders of a gang, do not show emotions or affections explicitly. Despite living in a male-dominated world, her husband made sure she was treated equally, if not, more important than the rest.

As Yao continued to talk and show baby Leon to his guests, Alice turned to Hsiao-Mei and asked. “Hsiao-Mei, is... my father... Did my father receive the invitation?”

Hsiao-Mei sighed and replied hesitantly. “Kiều Linh talked to his assistant, I'm sure he is aware of this. But Alice- _jeh_ , you have to understand, he's the Governor of California, he won't want to be associated with a mafia, you know?”

“I know... I just thought he might want to at least have a look at his grandson...” Alice's voice diminished as the memory her father flooded in. _'If you marry that Chinaman, that mafia rat, you are no longer my daughter! I am not going to repeat myself. Leave him or leave the house.'_ Since then, she hadn't seen her father, but she had not once regretted her choice. He of course did not attend their wedding, but she thought the birth of his grandson might change his mind, at least a bit. Tears started gathering but Alice tried to hold it back, it was supposed to be a joyful day afterall.

Her sister-in-law got nervous and hugged her immediately. “Alice- _jeh_ , Leon will meet his grandpa one day, don't worry! Please don't cry, it is Leon's big day today, it should be a happy day!” Alice swallowed her tears and gave Hsiao-Mei an appreciative nod.

As the representatives of the host, Kiku and Yongsoo went around the hall to greet all the guests attending. While Yongsoo was a natural social butterfly, Kiku's introverted personality did not help with the situation. The fake smile, fake compliments, fake respect... He hated every single moment of it, but he could not forget about his identity. He was the brother of the leader, face of the family. _'This is a happy occasion after all'_ , he told himself, _'and a good relationship with the guests and gang members is good for business and his position in the organisation.'_ He would have to endure it, for the gang's sake, for his family's sake, for _his_ sake. _'Fake it till you make it'_ , he repeated his favorite motto.

The scent of cigarettes drifted into Kiku's nostril, irritating the man. Looking around, he found the culprit and stormed towards him. “You.” He warned with his low, cold voice, glaring at the man through his thick black-framed glasses. “No smoking here. It's bad for the baby.”

The muscular gang member glanced up and down at Kiku, gave him a condescending sneer and stood up. Kiku was aware of the disadvantage in his height, but he held strong and did not startle. “Honda.” Kiku tightened his fist. “You betta mind your own business. Don't try to be the boss here.”

The air got cold, the crowd around them silenced. Kiku did not want to make a big fuss out of this, especially not today. Kiku tried to calm his boiling rage, for the gang's sake, for his family's sake, for _his_ sake. He took a deep breath, gaze solid. “ _Ah-_ Keung, please don't make it difficult. It's not the time for that.”

Keung snickered, looking into Kiku's eyes. “Honda. You're not a Wong.”

The fuse was lit. Senior gang members knew exactly how to trigger Kiku. Despite sharing the same grandfather with Yao, he never received the same level of respect from everybody. He was a Wong, just mixed with enemy's blood they deemed filthy. No matter how much his adoptive brother treated him as his own, he was never the pure-blooded member of the family. Gang members despised him, his own father hated him.

As much as Kiku could control his anger, this continuous disrespect did not help but drew out his innermost fury. Kiku's knuckles turned white. It was as if the tall man expected it, he smirked. Kiku raised his fist, but was stopped by a strong hand.

“What's the problem here?”

“ _Dai_ ... _Dai gor_!” Yao replaced his usual warm face with an authoritative demeanor, sending that member a cold, stern stare. “Nothing's wrong here, _dai gor_!” Keung exclaimed.

“I was trying to ask him to stop smoking, it's not healthy for Leon.” said Kiku with his calm voice.

Yao nodded and turned to the gang member, “My brother is to be treated with respect here. Know your place. You are here to serve the gang. I expected gratitude here. Don't forget how my family has helped you.” He turned to the rest of the gang members. “Once you join the gang, you are part of the family. We are all brothers. Understand?”

“Yes! _Dai gor_!” Everyone exclaimed.

“Now enjoy the food! We have the finest dishes here tonight!” Yao cheered and turned around, wrapping his arm around Kiku's shoulders. “Forget about that, Kiku. That couldn't change the fact that you are my brother, my beloved little brother. I am proud to have you, my _sai lo._ ”

Yao's smile was capable of melting the entire Antarctica. Kiku envied that, he, however, couldn't help but feel secure by his warmth. “Thanks, _dai gor_.”

“Besides, they are starting to hold a grudge against me now. They don't like my new direction for the group. So we have to work together to strengthen the authority, you know. I can't work alone, I need you, brother.” Yao reassured his adoptive brother, patting his shoulder. He turned to him and gave Kiku an imposing gaze. “Promise me you'll always be by my side.”

Kiku's dark, obsidian eyes met Yao's golden ones, his heart ached as those glistening eyes reminded him that, no matter how strong the bond between the brothers was, they would never be the same. His eyes would never be as dignified as Yao's, nor would they be as penetrating as Leon's. People would never see them as the same kind. He would never be fully accepted as a Wong. He snapped himself out of his deep thoughts, nodded appreciatively. “I promise.”

As they reached their table, Yao signaled his assistant, Ho Kang, to approach. “You keep an eye on those guys. I don't want any of that to happen again.”

“Understood.” The tall, young man replied.

A long-haired woman strutted across the hall and approached Yao with several letters in her hand, handing him one. “This is from Romulus Vargas. He also sent a flower board, I placed it outside.”

“Oh, old man Rome. He doesn't have to.” Yao said, while appreciating the letter. Romulus Vargas, CEO of Vargas Pharmaceuticals, had been his friend since he started sponsoring his company's research on drugs for cancer. He hoped that less people would have to suffer from such a horrible illness that took his mother's life.

“And this one is from the Braginskys, you will have to reply to them.” Kiều Linh handed another letter to him.

Yao frowned and threw the white greeting card with silver words embedded onto the table. “The Russians? Sheesh... Why should I bother?” He took a glance at the card and spat, “And who sends white cards at an event like this?”

Kiều Linh sighed, retrieving the card. “We don't want to make any enemies. So far the Russians aren't messing with our businesses, we want to keep any non-enemies on good terms.”

“But not the Braginskys!” Yao almost shouted, attracting attention from some guests. Realising how out of character he acted, he calmed himself down and readjusted his demeanor.

The family lawyer and publicist placed her hand on the table, looking sternly into Yao's eyes. “I've been serving this family since your father's days. You will listen to me and do as I say.”

Knowing Kiều Linh's loyalty to his father and ability to avoid any legal issues for his family, Yao knew better than not taking her advice. He let out a long sigh, “Fine. Kiku will do it for me.”

The lights dimmed and a spotlight shone onto the stage. Ho Kang approached Yao to accompany him onto the stage for his speech, holding Leon in his arms. Yao straightened up his dark brown suit and tightened up his red tie that had loosened up previously. He took the microphone and put on his most authoritative smile.

“Brothers and friends of Red Dragon! Thank you for joining this wonderful event. Alice and I could not express our joy with words. My son, Leon Ka Long Kirkland-Wong, reached his 100 days today. I could not appreciate the people who supported him more. With the birth of Leon, the addition of new blood, our family will only become stronger and the bond between our brotherhood will shine brighter! Brothers! I ask you to unite and assist Leon, for he will guide the new generation of our family and lead us to a glorious future!” Yao exclaimed, raising his glass. “To Leon!”

Ho Kang held Leon up high in the air, showcasing the newest member of the family with great pride. “To Leon!” Loud cheers reverberated throughout the banquet hall, members of the gang stood up and applauded, strengthening the spirit of the gang they called family.

The door was suddenly banged open. The gang members turned and stared as a foreign figure entered the hall. A tall, blond man marched towards the stage to be welcomed with Yao's formidable gaze.

Kiku rushed towards the obviously unwelcome guest, blocking his way. “Mr. Braginsky, I don't think you received the invitation for today's event.”

“Oh I just want to congratulate Yao and his precious son, nothing more!” He raised his voice so that Yao could hear him on stage. He swayed sideways, trying to get Yao's attention. That wasn't necessary, as his size alone was enough to make him stand out, not to mention his pale blond hair.

“Please, Ivan. You know you are not welcomed here.” Kiku whispered.

Ivan laughed loudly and turned his sight towards the baby in Ho Kang's arms. “Oh look at him! He surely is adorable! Yao, he definitely has your eyes.” He winked. His childish, seemingly-unharmful tone, however, sent chills down everybody's spine, not enough to hide his true intention.

Alice stood up and walked behind Kiku, staring into Ivan's violet eyes. “I'm sure Yao and Leon received your warm blessing, Mr. Braginsky. Your presence, however, startled our guests. You probably won't be enjoying the night either. So please, let Kiku lead you back to your chauffeur and leave everyone at peace for the rest of the night.” She said with the same attitude she had given him years back.

Ivan smirked. “Oh Alice, you haven't changed a bit, have you?” He laid his eyes back on Yao. “Oh and of course, my dear Yao. You still look amazing.” The two men exchanged an electrifying look, with Yao's menacing aura and Ivan's unfathomable playfulness pervading in the hall. The air turned cold, none of the guests dared to speak a word. Ho Kang held Leon tight, comforting him, yet it didn't seem that the baby was fazed by the situation, he didn't let out a cry. Ivan chuckled, breaking the silence. “I guess it's time for me to leave now. I'll see you again soon, Yao.” He winked at Yao yet again.

Kiku led Ivan out of the hall, walking towards the foyer. He stopped suddenly when Ivan's words striked him. “You know Kiku, you will never be the heir of the mafia, you heard that very clearly right there. Yao made sure his place is to be passed to his precious baby boy, he has no intention for you to take power.” Ivan leaned forward and whispered into Kiku's ear. “You will _never_ be part of them.”

Kiku's fist tightened. He did not need to be reminded over and over again on the same night. He was so conflicted. Part of him tried to ignore the nasty comments about his place in the family, trusting his elder brother's assurance of his importance in the gang; yet part of him knew, as much as he hates to admit, what Ivan and the gang members said, was true.

Ivan smirked, laying a hand on Kiku's shoulder. “Listen, Kiku. My door is always opened for you.”

Kiku shrugged, shaking Ivan's hand off his shoulder. He turned away, not meeting Ivan's eyes. “Your car is here, Mr. Branginsky. Have a safe trip back home and good night.”

“My offer is always welcomed, remember that!” Ivan shouted as Kiku made his way back to the hall.

At the corner of the hall, Kiku saw the smiling faces of Yao and Alice, who was holding Leon, surrounded by Yongsoo, Hsiao-Mei, Ho Kang and Kiều Linh. He could not help but feel isolated, disconnected. He looked at Yao's affable smile, so warm and smoothing as if it could hug the Earth like the sun, keeping every living thing alive. He tried very hard to fight all the negativities that engulfed his mind. Words from Ivan echoed within his skull, the sight of Leon's introduction blinded his eyes. Memories of his father gushed out, how he was treated as a dirty, unwelcomed lowlife, how he was treated lesser than Yao. His breath quickened, as he remembered his father looking down on him, his condescending glare pierced through his chest into his heart. The memories of how he was neglected, how he was unwanted, thrown around like a ball, how... _Yao always cheered him up_...

“Hey Kiku! Come, they want to take a family photo!” Yao waved at Kiku cheerfully.

Biting his lip, swallowing all his thoughts down his throat, Kiku walked towards his family with a small forged smile.

_Fake it till you make it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Cantonese, people like to nickname others with the word “Ah” in front of their names, so here Kiku called Keung “Ah Keung”, for Leon it could be “Ah Lung”.
> 
> The 100-day birthday thing... It's very traditional, I think they are celebrating it because babies are very vulnerable in the first few months so it's worth celebrating that they survived? People still do that in HK, not a lot, at least not so grand like Leon's (I gotta make it so grand and dramatic, you know, homeboi's son of a mafia leader hello), it's quite a waste of money to be honest haha.
> 
> Keung is a very generic name for a mid-aged man (so it suits the era), it means strong. I just can't cast Thailand as this annoying character you know. He'd be gone soon don't worry.
> 
> “Wong Hou Keang” is the most accurate romanisation for Macau's popular fanon name 王濠鏡(similar system as HK). Cheng is not really a name in Cantonese (maybe it is, but I couldn't put my finger on which word. It is in Mandarin though). I use Vicente as his western name to represent his history with Portugal, but it's not suitable in this story. Only HK has a western name because he's mixed race and a 1st-gen Chinese-American.
> 
> Edit: brown suit and red tie... I just realised that looks like Mr. Bean 🙈🙈🙈


	3. Chapter 2: Russian Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have changed the timeline slightly because I realised I messed up a bit. Leon was born in 1964 instead of 1966 (it's not too significant but homegirl's a bit fussy about stuff). Thank goodness only 2 chapters were published, yall dont need to see all the corrections. Yea, this story's a bit ambitious with the timeline.  
> ~  
> Dai gor 大哥= Big brother  
> Jeh 姐 = Big sister  
> Baba 爸爸 = Dad (nowadays HKers mostly just say “daddy” or “Ah-Ba”, you know, it's cooler, it's all about being cool in HK lol)
> 
> Kiều Linh is Vietnam, a Vietnamese fan told me that Lien is a Sino-Vietnamese name, they dont vibe with it 👀👀 so they suggested this name

_17_ _th_ _March, 1971, Red Dragon HQ, Chinatown, San Francisco_

Everywhere was chaotic in the Red Dragon headquarter, documents scattered around, every phone was ringing. The triad members ran around, arguing with each other as they tried to get hold of the newest piece of land near the border of their territory requested by their boss. Yao had been eyeing up this specific location for a while, aiming to build a shopping center. The members were of course confused, but they didn’t dare to disobey Yao or question his decision.

“ _Dai gor_ , Ho Kang has called the investors and his report will be done soon. Kiều Linh has an appointment with the mayor this afternoon, but that shouldn't be a problem, the mayor favors our plan anyway. Everything should be ready before the auction, so don't worry. With our budget and the fund from the investors, we should win the auction very easily. I already started contacting construction companies so we could start the construction immediately. I also have a few designers in mind...” Kiku flipped through the documents and laid them on Yao's desk.

Yao puffed out a breath of smoke, he waved his free hand to interrupt Kiku. “Slow down Kiku, I trust you. I trust that you have everything settled.”

“I just want to be as well-prepared as I can.” Kiku lowered his head shyly. He pushed his glasses up that had just slipped, the big frame and the thick lenses were a bit too heavy for him now, Kiku figured he should probably try the new soft contact lenses that were catching the country’s attention lately.

Yao patted Kiku's arm and smiled. “Oh Kiku, what could I do without you.”

“ _Dai gor_ , I mean no disrespect, but why a shopping center? That ain't bringing much money to our pocket! Why not a casino, or at least a hotel?” Keung had his arms folded across his big stomach, glancing at Kiku condescendingly, finally joining the conversation, his tone showed a bit of annoyance.

Yao let go of Kiku, took another breath of cigarette and sighed at his subordinate. “ _Ah-Keung_ , not everything is just about money! I want to bring the westerners to Chinatown, to show them our cultures, our traditions. We are in America now, we shouldn't isolate ourselves, we are all Americans after all.”

“Whatever you want, boss. I'll see if Ho Kang needs any help.” Keung scoffed and left Yao's office.

Yao could feel the disagreement from the senior gang member, in fact, he knew how his new direction for the gang was controversial among its members. It was never easy to pursue them. He was tired of seeing all these brilliant men with bright futures spending their time and intelligence on illegal activities. People like Ho Kang: smart, organised, competent, he should be working for the top companies in the country, not for a gang like this, if only his parents were alive during his teenagehood. Yes, most of them chose this path because they had no other options to feed themselves, some were too poor to afford education, some were new to the country and couldn't find a job because of their language ability. A lot of them were actually scared people, scared of integrating into this new country. Uncle Sam was growing rapidly after the war, but his people might not adapt to new changes as quickly, the result being immigrants sticking to each other, avoiding any discrimination. Yao knew a lot of them had to close one eye when they exploit innocent people, but that couldn't justify the crimes they've done and he was determined to change this. He was glad to know that at least Kiku would be on his side no matter what.

“Alright, I'll go to the bank now to make sure we have all the documents ready for the auction. I'll see you later, _dai gor_.” Kiku straightened his mustard yellow sweater and took his leave after gathering all the papers he presented to Yao.

At the age of thirty five, Yao was still considered to be young to lead an established triad. Most of the gang members, like Keung, had been in the gang for longer than him since his father's days. It was very hard to convince these traditional, old-fashioned men to go his way. Luckily, they all respected his father greatly and he had proven himself in the past ten years since he took over the gang when he was twenty five. Settling disputes, building networks, expanding their territory, all earned him the nickname of “the Emperor of the West Coast”, but it would have to take more than that to change his men's mind.

“ _Dai gor_ ! _Dai gor_!” Ho Kang rushed into the office, breath unsteady.

Yao was curious as to why the usually well-composed man seemed to be in such panic. “ _Ah-_ Kang, calm down. What is it?”

“The Russians... The Russians are there!” Ho Kang took a deep breath and quickly settled himself back to his usual professional self. “Their leader, Ivan Braginsky, said they will be claiming Washington-Kearny. He also sent a personal message to you, saying he will interfere with your plan unless...”

“Unless what?” Yao could hardly imagine what the Russian was planning, the man was so unpredictable that it could be his life he wanted or simply a dinner. He put out his cigarette and left the butt in the ashtray.

Ho Kang put down a pink envelope, swallowing hard. “...unless you agree to meet him personally... Alone.”

Yao laughed, gradually became louder and louder. “Oh Braginsky. You haven't changed a bit, have you?” He shook his head, took a sip of chrysanthemum tea that he prepared for Kiku. His brows furrowed a little as the tea had turned cold, but he continued drinking it anyway. “Alright, let's see what's up his sleeves.”

“B-but, _dai gor_ , it's very dangerous. You know how Braginsky is, I don't trust that guy.” Ho Kang fixed his glasses in place, which slid down due to his sweat.

“Oh I know him too well. Far too well.” Yao let out a sigh of satisfaction after another sip of the tea, eyes closed enjoying the pleasant scent of the beverage. “Don't worry, I'll be fine, he won't hurt me. He doesn't dare to.” Yao threw the pink envelope into the bin without even looking at what was inside and went back to enjoying his tea, luckily the beverage in the teapot was still hot enough. He poured some into another cup and offered it to Ho Kang, which he hesitantly accepted. Such overconfidence worried Ho Kang even more, he knew his boss' capability in controlling the situation and that, as much as Ivan seemed to hate Yao, he would not let anyone lay a finger on Yao for some unusual reasons that he still couldn't figure out. Still, no one could predict what the Russian wanted.

Outside the office, Keung caught Kiku on his way to the bank. “Honda!” Kiku reluctantly stopped. “Honestly, what was _dai gor_ thinking? Building a fucking shopping mall? What is that gonna bring to us? Why can't he just be like the Russians, build more casinos, bring those hot bitches in, and make some big money? Does he even know the brothers ain't so happy about it? Oh I know, _you_ gave him that stupid idea, didn't you?”

Kiku snorted, trying very hard not to snap at the man's ridiculous accusation. “I would not question _dai gor_ 's decisions. He has a vision, all he does is for the gang's future. Our duty as gang members is to follow him and assist him.” He replied calmly.

“Like a dog.” Keung smirked, he would not miss any chances to provoke Kiku. “You sniff and find the way for him, while he sits there and waits for the reward.” He leaned closer to Kiku, whispering to his ear. “Impressive, Honda. That's why you're his favorite. Easy, simple-minded, obeying his every command.”

Kiku balled his fist. He had to compose himself, this man was his senior, regardless of the fact that he ranked lower than him now. He held the documents tighter on the other hand, picking up his pace to leave for his destination. “I have work to do. Now would you excuse me.”

“Yeah, go fetch that ball! Woof! Woof!” Keung's laughter lingered as Kiku sorted his way out.

* * *

The clock struck four, Yao finally decided to leave the office despite Ivan's invitation at three. He let Ho Kang drive him to the bar Ivan mentioned and slowly, gracefully strutted through the door, waving at Ho Kang to assure him that he was fine alone.

As soon as Yao entered, a black cloth bag covered his head and he was straddled by presumably two men. Yao did not struggle, he was not shocked at all as if it was a routine and because of that, or maybe by order, the two men were relatively gentle to him as they pulled him to a chair and tied him up with ropes.

“You are late, Yao.” Ivan pulled the cloth bag off of Yao, causing him to squint from the strong stage light. Yao could barely see the tall blond man in front of him, but he could tell he was wearing a devilish smile on him.

“You should be grateful I turned up.”

Ivan kneeled down so that he could look at Yao eye-to-eye, violet irises now penetrating Yao's golden ones. The same creamy white scarf he used to wear back in high school was still hanging around his neck tightly, despite the turtleneck shirt he was already wearing. “Same old Yao.” He shook his head with a smirk. “You do realise the situation right now, yes? This isn't the stage you showed your precious baby boy at, the audience here are waiting to see your suffering you know?”

Yao glanced around the bar, he finally noticed the “guests” sitting at the table, watching them like the most intriguing performance. “You wouldn't dare.”

Ivan raised his hand to Yao's chin, his thumb brushing his lips. “Oh Yao, that mouth of yours. What should we do with it?” Suddenly, his hand moved back and slapped across Yao's face harshly, leaving a bright red mark on his left cheek. He leaned towards Yao's ear and whispered, “They love to see how I can ruin you and your gorgeous face.” Slowly he cupped his cheek with his cold hand, caressing him.

Ivan's words sent chills down his spine, he tasted the blood from inside his cheek. Yao was now surprised, it seemed like things were not going how he exactly calculated. He expected a one-to-one verbal dissing with Ivan as they always do, they did get physical sometimes, which he welcomed as he was way more capable of handling the Russian than most would think, but this was different. Everything seemed different this time. Eyes were observing them and Ivan seemed to have some guilt in his eyes, unlike the fire he usually had when facing Yao.

A “guest” shouted at Ivan in Russian and Ivan replied to him calmly, probably told him to sit down and have a cigarette. He turned back to Yao, his smirk returned. “So, enough of the foreplay, we are here to discuss business, aren't we?” He stood up. “Very simple. We want that land at Washington-Kearny.”

Yao snickered, spitting the blood out. “No.”

“Of course, I wouldn't expect less from Yao. But you know me very well too, Yao. I always get what I want.” Ivan said, laying his hand on Yao's shoulder, stroking it gently.

“Not always.” Yao said confidently with a smirk.

Anger rushed through Ivan's veins, he wrapped his hand around Yao's neck and squeezed hard. “Don't you remember what we learned from high school? Being cocky is no good.” He said with a smile, filling the room with his unsettling aura, yet it had little to no effects on Yao. “And yes, I always get what I want. You'll see.”

“I said no. We've planned this project for years. Unless you win us over the auction, I would never hand you that piece of land voluntarily. Wouldn't consider it to anybody, especially you.” Yao's voice still sounded strong like steel, despite Ivan's tightening hand and the blood flowing down his throat.

“God, Yao.” Ivan muttered as he loosened his hand, letting a sigh. He closed his eyes, avoiding Yao's, not to let him read his mind. Steadying himself, he opened his eyes and stared at Yao childishly. “We both want the same thing. What are we going to do? Hm?”

“That's enough, brother.” A woman with long blond in a navy dress appeared from one of the back rooms. “We are here for business, not a high school reunion.”

Ivan rolled his eyes, walking towards the woman, her smile not faded. “Natalya, why the rush?”

“I am in charge of this issue from now on. Brother, you are always wasting time.” Natallia's cold voice brought Yao back to a nervous state. “The General is expecting you.”

Ivan took a quick glance at Yao, before he reluctantly approached the back room. Yao could swear he saw a glimpse of worry in his eyes. Natallia turned to face Yao with stone-cold eyes. “Mr. Wong, we don't do negotiations here. Either you give up the land yourself, or we forcefully take it from you.”

Yao laughed. “Oh miss Arlovskaya, you don't have much idea how the legal system here in America works, do you? Yes, I do indeed have the highest chance to win the auction, but I still haven't had the land yet.” It sometimes amused Yao how simple-minded some people in this business could be. “And even if I do, I would not let you or your people set a foot on it. I would not let any Braginskys contaminate my land.” No way in hell would he let them taint his reputation. He had fought so hard to keep his gang away from the “lower-grade” activities like prostitution and human trafficking, which the Braginskys were well-known for.

It seemed like hot-temperness ran in the family, but Ivan had way better control than his younger half-sister. Natallia pulled out a knife from her dress pocket, raising it up high. “Don't you dare say that name with your filthy mouth! Brother will get whatever he wants!”

For some reasons, Yao could not stop provoking the Belarusian. He knew it was a bad idea, but he somehow wanted to teach her a lesson, a lesson that might cost him his life. “Listen, the world does not revolve around you and your brother. You don't just demand things and expect it to happen. Besides, why would Ivan want that land? It's nowhere close to your territory and it's not even that populous. Stop acting like a child. You and Ivan, both of you.”

Merely seconds later, all he saw was Natallia running towards him, a knife in her hand aiming at his stomach. The others in the bar stood up and tried to stop her, but she was quicker. He shut his eyes, awaiting the pain to come. He heard a scream, yet he felt no pain. A head of familiar black hair greeted him as he opened his eyes.

“No... Kiku!” Yao exclaimed.

Kiku fell back onto him, holding his wound on his stomach with his hand. “D-Don't worry, _dai gor_. I-I'm fine.” Kiku replied weakly. His face turned pale and Yao’s followed. He winced quietly, but from the amount of blood flooding from his wound, Yao could tell how much Kiku was suppressing his expression.

Ho Kang rushed into the bar with several more Red Dragon members, aiming their guns at the “guests” in the bar as they did the same. Natallia was held back by the same two men who tied Yao to the chair, this time more forcefully. “Wong! I will kill you! I will kill you for my brother!” She yelled.

“Enough! Natallia!” Ivan shouted as he reentered the room and witnessed the scene before him. “All of you! Put down your gun! This is a business meeting, not a battlefield!” His people obeyed his order. He quickly approached Kiku to check on his wound but was blocked by the faster Ho Kang. “I think we should call this meeting an end.” He sighed.

Ho Kang immediately called his people to move Kiku away, while he personally untied Yao. From the menacing warning glare from the bespectacled man, Ivan knew he had no chance of getting closer, though he was glad that he did so as it reminded him of the situation and his identity. Ivan could only let them be, he had to hold his apologies to Yao for the sake of his gang, himself and _his dignity_. He was not to show any weakness to anybody, especially Yao.

* * *

Kiku woke up in his room in the Wongs' residence, they had always reserved that guest bedroom for him due to his frequent visit. Yao's worried face lit up as he saw his brother waking up. “Careful there, Kiku. The doctor said you are fine, but just need to be careful not to disturb the wound.”

Alice came in with a tray of food and medicine, her usually doubtful eyes showed concern. “We've called _Ah-_ Mei, she will be arriving shortly.”

“Thank you, Alice- _jeh_. Did you tell Yongsoo?” Kiku's face grew worried imagining his cousin's reaction.

Alice smiled and placed the tray on the side table. “No, I think some quietness is what you need right now.” Her reply caused the others in the room to chuckle. A quick glance to her husband caused her to worry again, she saw the dark red marks on his cheek and his neck and the dried blood at the corner of his mouth. Although she should have gotten used to this already, she still couldn’t help but get frustrated at the danger her husband’s job accompanied him. She raised her hand and touched Yao’s wounds gently, examining them if they would cause any long-term damages. “Darling, does it hurt? That Braginsky again, he wouldn’t give you a break, would he? God, look at your neck...”

“Aiyah, that's nothing!" Yao waved off, getting slightly flustered by his wife's action.

Alice knew Yao would feel embarrassed easily by the affection she showed, but everyone here was family anyway, it wouldn't hurt his masculine image. She caressed his face, but held back the urge to kiss his wounds in front of the other two in the room. “Please take more care of yourself, it hurts me to see you like this.”

Ho Kang was unaffected, but Kiku grew slightly awkward even though he had seen the pair exchanging affectionate glances numerous times. He turned his head away, pursing his lips, he could taste the bitterness on them.

Yao turned the air warm with his sonorous laughter, bringing Kiku’s attention back. “Aiyah, these wounds are like mosquito bites to us. Right, Kiku, _Ah_ -Kang?” The two men chuckled softly, while Alice just sighed and shook her head.

A set of light rumbling footsteps interrupted them. “Uncle Kiku! Uncle Kiku!” The now seven year old Leon appeared at the door, his little face creased, showing great concern. “Uncle Kiku! Are you okay? I heard that you're hurt!” His breath puffing from the running, his exaggerated breathing brought the adults to smile.

Kiku turned to the toddler, his smile grew bigger. A shot of pain burst out from his wound as he tried to sit up, he hissed. Leon ran to his uncle immediately, thick brows furrowed, small hands grabbing onto the edge of the bed tight. “Be careful, Uncle Kiku!”

Kiku gave up sitting up, he reached his hand to his nephew's cheek and pinched it. “Silly Leon, Uncle Kiku is alright.” Leon's face softened as Kiku's gaze did the same. The boy's large golden round eyes radiated innocence and warmth, it was as if they could lighten Kiku's pool of obsidian, bringing his dusk to dawn. Kiku's heart ached.

“Aiyah, Leon. Let your Uncle Kiku rest! Stop disturbing him!” Yao pulled his son back and patted on his head.

Leon pouted and rolled his eyes. “You are all disturbing Uncle Kiku too.”

Yao swore his son inherited his stubbornness and his wife's sharp tongue, which he did not know if it was a good thing. Feeling defeated, he said, “Then maybe go draw something for your Uncle Kiku to make him feel better!”

“Now that's a good idea, _Baba_! Uncle Kiku, I will draw you Batman! I love Batman! Yes, yes, I will go draw it now!” Leon's eyes brightened up as he heard the idea, immediately picked up his pace and ran to his room. Alice excused herself and followed her son.

Yao was the first one to break the silence after the toddler left, he sighed. “Aiyah, Kiku, why did you do that?”

Kiku turned back to his serious self. “I grew concerned when Ho Kang called me, so I came as soon as I could.”

“But you don't have to shield me from her! She won't be able to harm me!” Yao's voice was mixed with the sound of tears. Of course he knew that wasn't the truth, but he would rather have himself injured than his precious little brother.

“ _Dai gor_ , I think you underestimate the enemies sometimes.”

“Kiku's right, _dai gor_. You know Ivan, but you don't know his sister and his people.” Ho Kang finally chimed in after being silent for a long time.

“And now you hurt yourself and made me worry! How nice!” Yao was not quite happy that the two was insinuating that it was his fault. He was confident he could handle Ivan Braginsky alone, who knows why his sister and the gang members were there too.

“ _Dai gor_ , _you_ are the leader of Red Dragon. I would do anything to protect you.” Kiku looked intensely into Yao's eyes.

“I would do anything for you, _dai gor_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to create the most authentic atmosphere, but I'm struggling with American English, can any British English users relate?!
> 
> While doing research on Chinese mafias in the United States, I found out a lot of these groups were founded as political groups (mainly supporting the Kuomintang) and had to flee to other countries to escape the Communist rule in the new China. Obviously the ideals have changed with time, but I found this phenomenon really interesting. Many immigrants in Hong Kong fled China for the same reason, so the fact that a lot of these gangs (at least the ones in San Francisco) still have ties with triads in HK is really interesting to me.
> 
> I was listening to Chopin's Nocturnes while editing this, esp the fight scene, it worked surprisingly well for me lol.


	4. Chapter 3: Seal of Approval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baba 爸爸 = Dad
> 
> The Chinese name for Red Dragon is 赤龍幫 for yall chinese-speaking folks (i know, how original lol)

_1_ _st_ _July, 1971, Wongs' Residence, San Francisco_

“ _Baba_! Bet you can't catch me!”

The seven-year-old shouted as he ran across the living room towards the garden, soaking wet in his red-and-white-striped shorts, leaving water trails all over the floor from the bathroom. “I'm the lion! I can run so fast! Or I can fly like a dragon!” He spread his arms, pretending like he was flying.

“ _Aiyah_! Come back here Ka Lung! You're still wet!” Yao exclaimed, holding a small towel chasing his son.

Things with the gang had been running smoothly, they won the auction and the Braginskys agreed not to bother them anymore, but the success also meant that Yao had less time with his family. He could finally slow down a bit these few weeks and he, of course, immediately took some time off to catch up with his loved ones.

Alice observed the two while leaning on the kitchen countertop, arms crossed. She fixed her glasses and shook her head lightly, couldn't help but smile and be amused by this heart-warming scene. She treasured every single moment she had with her husband and son, as she herself was a busy person as well. The couple often had to rely on babysitters to take care of Leon, but when they had time, they would give all their attention to their precious son. Alice sighed as she noticed the water on the floor and ordered the maids to clean up the mess the young master of the house made.

“ _Baba_ , you're so slow!” Leon turned his head and laughed when he saw his panting father, obviously too tired from the chasing. “ _Baba_ , you're already tired? You're getting old!”

Yao was surprised by his son's words. “Me? Old? _Aiyah_ , Ka Lung, don't let me catch you!” He turned to Alice, brows furrowed as he saw his wife not moving from her position, she didn't seem to have the intention to help him out. “ _Aiyah_ Alice! You're not going to help?”

“Thursday is your turn.” Alice said simply, smirking at her husband.

Yao's eyes widened, he gasped dramatically, staring at his wife jokingly, as if warning her of his revenge, from which he got a small snort from his wife. The noise of water splashing brought back Yao's attention. He turned and saw Leon jumping into a mud puddle in the garden and was now drenched with mud and dirt. “ _Aiyah_ Ka Lung! You just took a bath!” He exclaimed.

Leon stuck his tongue out, making faces while running backwards. Not noticing the two figures standing at the front gate, he bumped into them and fell. Luckily, he was caught by one of them in time. “Ah! Uncle Kiku! Uncle Hou Keang!”

“Kiku! Thanks for catching Ka Lung! That boy was running away from me after I gave him a bath. Now he is getting all dirty again! Can you believe it?” Yao shouted as he approached the three. A frown appeared on his face as he noticed the mud on Kiku’s kahki pants, “ _Aiyah_! Look, Ka Lung, you are getting Uncle Kiku's pants dirty too!”

Kiku, who finally replaced his thick glasses with the newly-released technology called the soft contact lenses, looked so much more confident now. He smiled as he patted the boy hiding behind him. “Don't worry about it Yao- _gor_.”

Yao nodded, he sighed as he looked at his son's round, smug face. Yao could never get angry with this cute face, his little prince indeed a little troublemaker, but his adorable expression could melt everyone’s heart. Noticing the other person, he directed his gaze towards him. Curious of the serious expression on the usually-friendly man, he asked, “Hou Keang? What's wrong?”

Hou Keang exchanged glances with Kiku, letting out a small sigh. “ _Dai gor_ , there's... an issue.”

Sensing something serious from the two men, Alice approached the four. She set her hand on Yao's back, raising her concern. “Is everything alright, darling?”

“Alice, please get Leon cleaned up.” Yao told his wife, he squatted down, facing his son, “Leon, mommy is going to take you to shower. Listen to her and don't make a mess again, okay?” Leon nodded obediently, knowing it was not the time to be rebellious, and Yao smiled with pride.

Yao led Kiku and Hou Keang to his study. The concerned looks on the two men drew Yao's attention. “What is it? Is it the Russian again?” he asked. The two gave each other a nervous look before Kiku answered his brother, “No, _dai gor_ , it's the Flaming Bulldogs this time. They're at Ying's right now, Rodriguez is threatening to burn the restaurant down.”

“Idiot.” Yao rolled his eyes and shook his head. The two kept their worried gaze at Yao as he nonchalantly poured hot water into his tea cups to prepare making tea, a gesture to clean and warm up the cups. Yao was questionably unfazed by the news as he went through his collection of tea leaves on the shelf. “Jasmine? Pu'er? Oolong? Nah... I don't feel like Oolong today.”

Kiku and Hou Keang stood there in silence, faces still worried. On one hand, they were worried about what the Flaming Bulldogs gang would do, usually it's just breaking a couple of tables to threaten them, but it could lead to something far worse if they didn't get any response; the worry on the other hand was how calm their boss was facing a situation like this. Yes, with Yao's reputation and the power of their gang, they shouldn't have to worry about this one small gang, but they didn't want another incident like three months ago. Yao's over-confidence didn't seem to have changed after the argument with the Braginsky’s.

“Oh I know! What about the Longjing Keung brought us for New Year's? Speaking of Keung, where the hell is he... haven't seen him for ages! ” Without getting any responses, Yao simply took a can at the very bottom of the shelf, stood up and turned to the two. Seeing their frowning faces, Yao sighed. “ _Aiyah_ , why that face? It's just the Flaming Bulldogs, no big deal!”

“ _Dai gor_...” Kiku wanted to speak further, but decided to just let his brother go on.

Yao sat down and opened the can. He looked up to the men with a more serious tone. “I know... I promised you two to be careful. But trust me, it’s really no big deal this time. All they want is money, I'll make sure they won't disturb us again.”

Kiku nodded. “Okay, I'll go and settle it.”

Yao stopped adding the tea leaves into the pot, furrowing his brows. “Of course not, Kiku! Your wound is not completely healed yet!”

“But...”

“No but’s. It's settled. I'll go there with Hou Keang, it shouldn't be long.” said Yao sternly. He poured the hot water into the pot and transferred the content to the three tea cups he had prepared. After discarding the first batch of water, he repeated the steps again.

As he was offering the tea to Kiku and Hou Keang, Leon, now clean in his favorite Batman costume, rushed into the office. Yao complimented his outfit and suddenly, realisation hit him. He had forgotten that he had promised to bring his son to Playland for his birthday today. What he had also forgotten was that Alice had a maternity appointment in the afternoon and had to join them later. It was an important appointment as the couple were trying very hard to give Leon a younger sibling so that he wouldn't have to grow up alone.

“ _Aiyah_ ... I'm getting old, am I?” Yao cursed in his mind. He lifted Leon to his lap and looked at him in the eyes, “Ka Lung, _baba_ has something important to do today, Uncle Kiku will take care of you, okay? _Baba_ won't go for long, I will still bring you to the superhero restaurant tonight, alright?” Yao's face finally grew worried as he anticipated his son's response.

Leon pouted and crossed his arms. “You promised me! _Baba_ you're a liar!” He tried to turn his back to Yao, but his cape was restricting his movement, so he simply turned his face away from his father.

As Yao was about to say something, Kiku came to his side and squatted down, looking at the toddler in the eyes. “Wow aren't you Batman? Can I be your Robin? I know there's a crime scene somewhere downtown, let's go and catch some bad people together!” Kiku interrupted with a soft and almost child-like voice that could rarely be heard from a serious man like him, although he realised the irony within his words.

As soon as he heard the word “Batman”, Leon's face beamed up. He looked at Kiku, eyes wide and nodded his head excitingly. “Yes, yes, yes! Let's fight crimes together! Uncle Kiku, I'll train you to be Robin and I can teach you some useful techniques against the baddies!” The boy flailed his arms in the air, mimicking the moves he saw his favorite superhero used in the cartoons.

Yao let his son down and ordered him to find the gears for his uncle. As soon as the boy left, Yao turned to his brother with an appreciative smile. “Kiku, what do I do without you?” He took a sip of the tea and frowned as the tea had gotten cold now. Kiku simply smiled and excused himself to make some phone calls, Hou Keang followed suit to prepare for the confrontation with the Flaming Bulldogs gang. 

Yao leaned back on his buffalo leather executive chair, an heirloom passed on to him by his father, he glanced out of the window to have a glimpse of the sunshine while enjoying the rest of the drink. Yao sighed as he contemplated on how much he would miss out today with his son yet again, especially in such gorgeous weather, but that was the reality of his role, he had his responsibility over thousands of people. He was just grateful that he had an amazing family to cherish, unlike some of his members. He knew this was his fate.

* * *

The meeting with the Flaming Bulldogs was nothing more than a mundane routine: enduring the loud shouting, ignoring the ridiculous demands like giving them a street block, and making negotiations. Apparently a few members from the Red Dragon had ran into an argument with the Flaming Bulldogs when they were extorting money from the restaurant owner, verbal dispute turned into a physical one, but that was nothing new to Yao. He knew exactly that these guys were provoking his men on purpose, in hope of the Chinese to take responsibility. Yao of course didn't want to give in that easily, but he knew his men were at fault, they started attacking the Flaming Bulldogs gang members first and he also didn't want more conflicts with the otherwise non-enemy gang.

Yao dissolved the problem quickly by offering each member ten grands to the dismay of his own men. Fifty thousand dollars lost to such idiotic matter, what a waste indeed, but if that could shut them up, the investment would be worth it. They would soon earn them back easily from another drug deal anyway, although he was trying to get rid of that line of business. At the thought of that, Yao's heart ached, the thought of Leon came to his mind. _How would his future be? Would he have to follow his path to lead the gang? Would he be like him, trapped in between responsibility and morality? What if he despised his job, despised him, his own father when he finally realised what this business was about, and wanted to fight crimes like a superhero? And even if he accepted his role, would he have problems finding love? Would he and his future girlfriend face difficulties like Alice and himself did?_

Yao did not want his son to have to endure what he had, he was determined to provide his son a better future and hopefully the younger generation of his people too. Yao was a natural leader, perfect for his job and he loved his people, but deep inside he wanted peace. He had once dreamed of his family, with Alice, Kiku, Hsiao-Mei, Yongsoo, Hou Keang, Leon and eventually his significant other, maybe even his children sitting together, having a turkey at Christmas, catching up with each other. Alice would like to pull some Christmas crackers, a family tradition from her heritage. Knowing Alice, she would be making the crackers herself, personalising each one for each family member. He would probably get a small panda figurine she used to tease him about for his collection, for Leon something heroic, maybe something related to his superhero obsession or one of those legendary creatures he loved so much from Yao's bedtime stories. Then they would do it again all dressed in different shades of red or gold, blessing each other at Lunar New Year, asking for red packets, cracking up melon seeds, fighting for the last piece of turnip cake, laughing at each other and just genuinely having a good time.

He pondered if he had made the right choice, inheriting his father's business, taking over to lead the gang. He wondered how different his life would be if he hadn't listened to his father and ran away with Alice. _Would Alice and her father's relationship be better? How would the gang be if someone else was leading it? Would Kiku take his place as the gang leader? But then Kiku would end up like him now, would he like it?_ It seemed to be a cycle, someone would eventually end up in his position. If things didn't change, the cycle would just go on. Was that a bad thing or was it not, Yao had yet to find the answer. All he knew was he didn't have much choice when his father died suddenly and he had to take over to continue his legacy. Now that he had done what he believed would make his late father proud, he wanted his own legacy and hopefully could pass it on to Leon with pride.

Hou Keang stopped the Cadillac Coupe de Ville by a toy shop to collect the panda plushie Yao ordered as Leon's birthday gift. He returned to the car and handed it to Yao, who looked at the toy satisfactorily. They were on the way to the Richmond District, where Kiku probably had brought Leon to one of the arcades or were having some ice-cream after their trip to Playland. They had to be careful though, as this part of the city was controlled by his rival gang, the White Tiger, also mainly consisted of Asian-Americans. Hou Keang parked the car as soon as they spotted the two, strolling down the street with Leon holding what looked like the newest superhero comic. Yao smiled as he saw his son enjoying his time and stepped out of the car. He was about to call them, but the next scene made his words stuck in his throat.

Leon's comic book flew away across the road, the toddler immediately loosened his hand from Kiku's and ran out to the bustling road to retrieve his newest possession. A white truck was approaching Leon at a high speed, but the boy wasn’t aware of it. He kept chasing the comic, running further and further into the traffic. The truck, however, did not seem to slow down. “Ka Lung!” Yao screamed in shock, legs shaking as he ran towards his son and tried to save him, while Hou Keang stopped the approaching cars to protect his boss from getting into an accident.

Kiku picked up his heels and rushed to his nephew, pulling his arm and wrapping his whole body in his, just in time to avoid the collision. The two fell onto the ground, but Leon did not feel any impact as he was in Kiku's arms. The white truck sped up and disappeared from the busy street. It was traveling so fast that they could barely point out the driver's appearance, all they could tell was that the driver had dark brown hair and was wearing sunglasses.

Yao arrived by their side and he immediately picked up Leon and pulled him into a tight hug. “ _Aiyah_ , Ka Lung you just scared me to death! Don't you do that again!” He reprimanded, his voice strict but his concern was obvious. Hou Keang too arrived and checked Kiku's injury at once. There were mainly just scratches, but his old wound at his stomach was causing him a little bit of pain. Kiku winced at Hou Keang's touch as he tried to stop the bleeding. Yao's face whitened as he saw his injured brother, the memory in the bar three months ago flashed back. His brother had once again gotten hurt because of him. If he hadn't had to leave Leon with him, they wouldn't have encountered the truck and Kiku wouldn't have had to save Leon, sacrificing himself. “Are you okay, Kiku? Please tell me you are okay!” Yao's voice was hoarse and his eyes were flooded with tears.

Kiku responded with a weak smile, trying to not make his brother worry. “I'm alright, _dai gor_. The wound is not that bad.” He clasped his stomach tight.

At the sight of Kiku's injury, Leon started to cry, but he held his voice back, knowing it was his fault that his uncle got hurt. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and snuffled quietly. Noticing this, Kiku raised his hand and pinched Leon's cheek. “Sometimes fighting crimes could hurt, Batman has definitely gotten injured too, but it's worth it, right?” He patted the boy's head with relief when he nodded.

* * *

“I'm sorry, Kiku, it's all my fault. Please don't do this to me again, I can't take it.” Yao seemed to have calmed down a bit after the family doctor came and checked Kiku's wound. It wasn't life-threatening, but it would take Kiku longer to heal the wound as he had disturbed it. Yao had given the panda plushie to Leon in advance to help him to sleep. They had to cancel the booking for the restaurant and Alice rushed home immediately as she got the news.

“ _Dai gor_ , for the fiftieth time, I'm fine and it's not your fault.” Kiku sighed a bit dramatically, in hope of making the atmosphere lighter.

Yao knew Kiku was right, it was mere accident; and even if he was there, it could have happened too, but it just hurt him to see his brother lying on the sick bed, again. “Kiku, I really don't know what I'd do without you.” He decided to not disturb him further and let him rest. He looked at Kiku one last time and gave him an assuring nod, closing the door lightly.

Alice glanced at Yao as he appeared at the door of his son's room. The toddler had fallen asleep quite quickly after arriving home. The afternoon at the amusement park had drained his energy, then with the addition of the car accident, some rest was all he needed. Yao sat on Leon's bed next to Alice, he laid his hand on Alice's and squeezed it a little. He knew how worried his wife was when she heard about what happened. On top of that, the disappointment from the doctor's conclusion that her nausea was just from a stomach bug instead of pregnancy brought Alice into a deeper melancholy.

Yao wrapped his arm around Alice's shoulders and pulled her closer. She laid her head on her husband's shoulder and started sobbing. She tried to keep it down not to wake their son up and buried her face deeper into his chest, her voice muffled. Yao felt the wetness on his shirt building up, but he chose to not speak a word, letting his wife just pour her emotions out. He stroked Alice's back, trying to smoothen her breath and kissed her forehead gently. “It's okay.” He whispered.

“Thank god Kiku was there.” Alice was finally able to speak up after a long pause.

* * *

Kiku received a phone call later that night. Recognising the voice on the other end, he stayed silent, his hand on the handset tightened.

“ _I'm sorry boss, I tried my best.”_

Silence.

“ _I didn't know he would arrive so soon!”_

Not a word.

“ _Please give me another chance, boss. I can't go back to my old folks!”_

Kiku snickered. “Prove your worth next time, R.”

“ _Thank you so much, bo–“_

Kiku cut the line before the man could finish. His anger rushed through his veins, he winced as his wound was hurt by his heavy breathing. Then when he reimagined today's incident, he couldn't help but laugh. _What a coincidence, what a perfect timing._ It seemed like the universe was playing a game with him, but if that's the case, Kiku would gladly accept the invitation.

Maybe his sacrifice wasn't a bad thing after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been to San Francisco, but it was looong time ago and all I remember is the bridge. You have no idea how much time I've spent on just looking at Google map, making sure I got the geography right. Half way through the writing I found out this amusement park called Playland and it was closed in 1972, our timeline here is right in time for our boy Leon to spend his birthday there.
> 
> I imagine Yao would be speaking Cantonese to Leon and Alice in English so that he could get used to both of his mother tongues at a young age, that's how most of the bilingual families do I believe. Also, as I said, I imagine this gang consists of mostly Cantonese people (and Kiku grew up with Yao), so Yao, Hou Keang and Kiku would be speaking Cantonese when talking about business.
> 
> ALSO, YAO, YA BOI GAE.


	5. Chapter 4: Incident of '73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baba 爸爸 = Dad  
> Dai gor 大哥 = Big brother

_4_ _th_ _April, 1973, Chinatown, San Francisco_

Since the auction, things hadn't been easy on Yao. For the past two years, the gang's finances had sunk tremendously, due to Yao's effort of eliminating drug trades. His friend and business partner Romulus Vargas kept distance from him to appeal to the Governor in favor of the new drug testing program. That was nothing new to Yao though, of course one would choose his father-in-law over him when there's beneficial conflicts. The development of the shopping mall was put to a halt as a result of the revoked investments seeing the weakened state of their treasury. But what actually hurt Yao was that half of the Red Dragon members had left the gang, they were disappointed at the new direction Yao implemented; some, like Keung, even joined the rivalry gang, the White Tiger. _What about the oath they'd sworn to be family forever? What about the brotherhood they loved to emphasize so much?_ He naively thought that it would last forever, that they treasure friendship over money and fame. If he couldn't even trust these people whom he called “brothers”, who else could he trust? Maybe blood was really thicker than water, maybe all he had left were just Alice, Leon, Yongsoo and Kiku.

Looking back, _had he really been ignoring his men's wants? Was money really all they cared about? Was he really the naive one to think that his “brothers” would understand him when the time came? Was it really that wrong to wish for the best for his people and the newer generations of Asian-Americans?_ He had always put his family first, his brothers first. Not that he was asking for anything in return, but he had always expected that the trust and respect to go both ways. Apparently this wasn't the case. _Maybe he didn't care enough. Maybe that's why he overlooked the frustration of his members. Maybe it was indeed all his fault..._

“Darling...” Alice's voice snapped Yao back to reality. She wiped away the sweat on Yao's forehead that had been forming and gave him a peck. “I made you some congee for breakfast.”

Yao's smile was weak but warm, appreciative that his wife still understood him the best. “Thank you, my beautiful rose.” A warm bowl of congee was always Yao's favorite in the morning after a whole night of hard work. Yao was desperately trying to find ways to find funding to support his project, he had resorted to his least favorite beverage, coffee to keep himself awake, but so far his searches had always led him to dead ends. Alice's presence seemed to have magic, all his frustration would vanish whenever she was by his side and his heart would melt and form again to declare that it belonged to her every time. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her onto his lap.

“Oh goodness.” Yao's pet name for Alice was always her weakness, it reminded her how he first captured her heart when they were in highschool. The smile on the usually unaffectionate woman grew, she leaned her head on to her husband's head as he rubbed his face into Alice's shoulder. She was glad that she could provide protection for her man, who always had to put his defense up due to the nature of his job. Around her, he could slow down. Around her, he could feel safe and be young again, not needing to face any judgement. Alice eventually spoke after a while of snuggling, “Alright, I need to go to the workshop early today and bring Leon to school. Come on, darling.”

Yao groaned. He lifted his face and looked at Alice with his warm, golden eyes, sparkling with innocence, begging her to stay. “Don't go to work. I want to be with you today.”

Alice sighed, she knew she could never defeat Yao in his “baby” mode. “Darling, I have to prepare for a very important client next month, time is running out!”

“Not even for your lovely husband?” Yao pouted.

That was it, her husband's ultimate weapon. She was defeated. “Alright, just today, but I still need to bring Leon to school.” Alice tried to stand up but Yao tightened his arms, pulling her deeper into his embrace.

“Just tell the teachers that Leon's sick. We are spending today together as a family!” Alice didn't even bother to ask her husband why, he would just reply _“because I said so”_. She knew how stressed Yao was lately, so she agreed that it was a good idea to make him relax, after all they didn't spend much time together as a family lately because of their busy schedules. A spontaneous family outing sounded like a great idea.

Alice rolled her eyes, though smiling slightly. “Now if you don't let me go we can't get the day started.” After a few more times of playful nagging and nudging, Yao finally released his wife. He followed his wife out of his study to the dining room. 

As he walked down the staircase, he traced his finger along the iron handrail. Every rose and leaf, every detail carved on it was the most exquisite craftsmanship he had seen. The elegance and the sturdiness reflected the personality of its maker. Yao couldn't help but stop there, admiring the beautiful art made by the hands of his own wife.

“ _Baba_ , come on! I'm hungry!”

Yao's favorite voice (next to his wife's) called. Leon, now nine years old, had grown so much faster than he could remember. The panda plushie he received two years ago, which he named “Hong” because of the nice scent of the toy, now looked so much smaller in his arms. Yao observed his son satisfactorily as he sat at the table patiently, waiting for him and had gotten rid of his bad habit of playing with his utensils as Alice laid the table. Yao could not wait to see Leon all grown up, at his highschool graduation, college graduation or even his wedding, but he had to treasure the moments he had now with him when he was still young, as time flies and no one can predict what would happen in the next second.

* * *

Yao had the best day of his life, other than the day Alice agreed to be his girlfriend, or the day she accepted his proposal, or their wedding day, or the day Leon was born. The family had only had a simple outing, they went to the pier for a picnic, chased off seagulls and built sandcastles at the beach, but it was enough for Yao. He hadn't had this state of peace for so long, he could only find it when around his family. When night commenced, Yao brought his family to dinner as they were all exhausted and invited Hou Keang to join them as a treat for his hard work today in Los Angeles.

It was unusually empty at the Dragon-Phoenix restaurant, the Wongs were greeted by an unfamiliar young man, probably a new hire. Dark brown hair with a curl tucked behind his right ear, slightly tanned skin, most importantly, Caucasian. Not that it was impossible, as Chinatown had been getting quite popular among non-Asians, but a white man working at a Chinese restaurant was a new sight to him. Yao was glad, he thought his integration plan must have started to work, the gap between Asian-Americans and the others would shrink more and more by time.

Yao could sense the waiter's nervousness, probably his first time to serve an important figure like himself. “Where's _Ah_ -Ping? It's rare he's not here!” Yao tried to loosen up the air, his eyes slightly studying the man.

The man lowered his head a bit. “Mr. Cheung is sick, so I'm hosting today.” He grabbed three sets of menus and led the family to their seats. Standing up straight, he waited by the table patiently as the three took off their coats and settled down. Alice tried to take off Leon’s new denim batman jacket, but the boy insisted on keeping it on as he had gotten a lot of compliments from his classmates at school, it had become his favorite outfit. Leon reached out for the menu as soon as he sat down, wanting to be in charge of ordering the food. Alice followed but took her time, while her husband didn't even need to look at the menu and started ordering.

“Ah, just the usuals. Sweet and sour pork, stir-fried chicken, roast duck... Or maybe some beef or fish? Right, we need some vegetables too...” Yao turned to Leon, ignoring his wife's glare signalling that was too much food for the three of them. He smiled at his son, quickly said before his wife could drop any sarcastic comments like he's ordering for the Last Supper, “Ka Lung, what do you want?”

“Mango pudding.” Not a second was needed for the nine-year-old.

The couple laughed, even though they had expected the answer from their son. The waiter suppressed his smile, didn't want to lose his job on his first day. Yao shook his head, cheeks still aching from the laughing. “ _Aiyah_ , Ka Lung, dessert is for later! Do you want some _Char Siu_?” Yao didn't even need to see his son's lid-up face to know that he got it right, it's his son's favorite food after all, well, after mango pudding that is.

“Not a problem, the food will be served soon. Mr. Cheung told me you like our Longjing tea, is that correct?” Confirmed by Yao's nod, the waiter noted down the orders and gathered the menus. As he turned to leave, he locked eyes with the boy who was hugging his panda toy. Golden, like everyone said, but it was more stunning to look at so close in person, almost hypnotising. He was completely mesmerised by those shimmering orbs, escape would not be on anyone's mind as they were simply too beautiful to look at, as if they could soften one's mind. Leon broke the eye contact shortly, ignoring him and continued playing with the plushie. The man hesitated, but quickly collected himself and approached the kitchen.

Not wanting to waste any time, Yao turned his attention back to his family, he asked Alice about her workshop and Leon his school life. Ever since the boy started elementary school, Yao had been very worried about school bullies, he didn't want his son to have the same experience as he did. For this particular reason and also that he wanted his son to still learn Chinese, he sent him to a Chinese school. But still, school life was always unpredictable.

A loud noise interrupted them. A bunch of men appeared at the front door of the restaurant, whom Yao recognised were members of the White Tiger. One of them exchanged a glance with him, a familiar face. “Long time no see, Yao _-gor_.” Keung snickered.

As the waiter came to lead the crowd, Yao growled at him, “Don't you know they can't be here?”

The waiter was obviously confused, clueless of the fact that there was a non-written rule that opposing gangs could not enter their enemy's territories, let alone dining there. Keung laughed, “Come on, Yao _-gor_ , we just want to have dinner! Can't you be nice to a hungry brother?”

The word “ _brother_ ” sounded sour in Yao's ears, he couldn't believe a person could be so shameless after betraying his gang. Alice noticed her husband's tightening fists, she wrapped her hands around them, her thumbs circling his palms, trying to loosen them up. “Yao, let's just have dinner peacefully, shall we?”

Yao had to agree with it, he didn't want to confront them in front of Alice, especially not in front of Leon, he knew things would turn messy or even violent. More importantly, he was severely outnumbered. As good as his martial arts skill was, starting a fight now was not a good idea. Luckily, Keung and his friends decided to mind their own business and enjoy their food. Leon seemed to be unfazed by the situation, as his focus was still on his panda plushie, Yao let out a sigh of relief. 

The Wongs had finished their meal without further interruption fortunately. The food was indeed too much as Alice had predicted, so Yao asked the waiter to pack the remainders up and ordered a portion of mango pudding for Leon. Hou Keang had yet shown up, still no messages from him appeared on Yao’s pager, the traffic in Los Angeles must have affected his drive back to San Francisco. When Yao decided to leave, an unexpected guest walked into the restaurant, Yao's face beamed up. “Ki –”

“ _Dai gor_!” Keung called Kiku, waving at him.

 _Was Yao seeing things? Didn't Keung hate Kiku's guts? Since when had they been so friendly? What was happening? What had he missed?_ Yao had no idea how to react to this.

Kiku gave Keung a nod and approached Yao, his face was hard to read. “ _Dai gor._ ”

An unknown fear rushed through his veins, goosebumps grew on every inch of his skin when he heard his brother's word. “Ki...ku. What is going on? Why are you acting so weird?” He gulped, standing up instinctively in front of his wife and son, as if he was expecting something harmful to be done to them. A few more men came in, whom Yao suspected were from Ivan's gang. He refused to connect the dots.

The same dark-haired waiter appeared from the kitchen and informed Kiku, “Boss, everything's ready.”

Kiku took out a pistol from his coat pocket, Yao's eyes widened. “Ki...ku, w-what are you doing? P-put down the gun, it's d-dangerous!” Yao stuttered. Kiku raised the gun and pointed at him. Yao immediately turned to protect Alice and Leon, but the gang members were faster. “Alice! Leon!” he screamed.

“I want her alive!” shouted Kiku. The two were pulled away to a back room, leaving Yao alone in the dining area.

Yao stepped back as Kiku approached him, they reached the end of the hall, he was now cornered by his brother. The tip of the dragon statue behind him poked his back as he leaned back to keep the distance between Kiku and himself. Its teeth sank into Yao's skin, its mouth wide open as if it was ready to swallow him alive. He heard Leon's shriek, followed by Alice's and the other men's shouts. Yao wanted to run to them, but was blocked by the waiter and Keung, both holding a gun in their hands. Normally he would have a gun with him when he's out, but he never thought he'd have to use it on a family outing so he left it at home. He didn't want Leon to have contact with guns at such a young age, but all his protection for his son was broken today.

Kiku quickly recovered from his concerned expression caused by Alice's scream, he stared at Yao as intensely as he could. Yao stood there like a deer in the headlights, lost, not knowing what to do next. But he kept it to himself, he would never show any weakness towards people like them. Kiku, however... S _houldn't he be able to lower his guard around his own brother?_ “Kiku, why are you doing this?” Yao's dignified golden eyes fixed on his brother's, searching desperately for an answer.

“Forgive me, _dai gor_.”

Yao couldn't even hear the fire being shot, Kiku's words reverberated within his skull. His voice was cold, yet there was a hint of sorrow. Yao wanted to believe it, to believe that he was truly sorry, to believe that there must be a reason for him to resort to killing his own brother. He couldn't even feel the pain on his forehead, the blood falling from his wound. His mind was clouded with thoughts, confused, trying to look for every single reason to justify this. Yao could swear he saw Kiku shutting his eyes when he was pulling the trigger, gun dropping from his hands after. _What was the meaning of this? Would his people be happier if he died? Would his brother be happier if he died?_

 _Dai gor._ Big brother. The last words he heard before his last breath left him.

* * *

“I want her alive!”

Leon was pulled away from his father by the wrist together with his mother, the strong hold by these unknown men hurt his thin, fragile arm. He turned his head back to find his panda plushie he lost hold of, but the man kept dragging him out of the main hall. He pulled back, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. The man got annoyed and kicked Leon in his stomach, causing the boy to shriek in pain. Sensing her son in danger, Alice also screamed, begging them to stop torturing her son. The pain was immense, but it was manageable. Leon bit the man's arm as hard as he could and was released shortly as the bite must have caused a lot of pain to the man.

“Run! Leon!” Alice shouted.

The hallway was dark and narrow. Leon ran aimlessly the fastest he could. The martial arts training his father forced him to go every Saturday must be working, his speed and agility had brought him far away from the man who was chasing him. He turned at every corner he encountered, trying to confuse the man. It was a game of cat and mouse, the cat was blind and the mouse was quick. But the game could only go so long until they both ran out of breath, intelligence would have to be the key to win.

Leon found a small cabinet in the kitchen under the sink, he silently climbed in and crawled deeper into it. The man's impatient growl and heavy footsteps echoed, Leon could hear loud bangs that were possibly from him throwing the pots and pans. Leon held his breath, despite already having trouble breathing due to the moldy smell coming from the water pipes. He could see the shadow of the man shone by the dim light outside, but he didn't dare to peek, he couldn't risk being caught when he was so close to winning. The shadow lingered around the sink, Leon's heart beat so fast, his hot blood rushed through his veins.

Leon had never hated darkness so much in his life. Darkness usually meant snuggling cozily in his warm bed, his parents by his side telling him bedtime stories, his father about Chinese mythical creatures, dragons or phoenix and his mother about magical beings, fairies and elves. Darkness now meant silence, coldness and unknown. He didn't dare to shiver, as any movement, regardless how little it was, would ruin his chance for freedom. Leon recalled a lullaby his father would sing to him to sleep:

_月光光 照地堂_

_蝦仔你乖乖瞓落床_

_聼朝阿媽要趕插秧咯_

_阿爺睇牛去上山崗 啊..._

He imagined the big bright moon shining at his window, his father's joke about his mother working at the rice field, his grandfather, whom he had never met, leading his cow up the hill.

It brought him peace, his breath smoothened, his mind cleared, though it wasn't able to completely wipe off the fear in his brain. But Leon could endure this, he had to endure this. He heard the man sighed and his footsteps faded. The cat had given up. The mouse was deemed victorious.

After a long while of waiting, Leon slowly crawled back out of the cabinet. Not a sound could be heard within the whole restaurant except his light footsteps. He followed the weak light source to try to go back to his parents. The boy had to readjust to the light as he reached the main hall, he blinked a few times and spotted a figure lying on the floor under the giant dragon statue. The long ponytail was a clear indicator of who the person was. Leon hesitated to walk towards him as he didn't want to confirm his suspicion.

“ _Baba_ , wake up!” Leon said as he knelt down and shook his father. No response. Golden eyes shut tight. He shook him again, this time more vigorously. “ _Baba_ , come on, we gotta go home! We still need to feed Hong!” He joked, yet his tears were already falling on its own. “Help! Somebody! Anybody!” Leon shouted frantically, but silence was his only answer. The shadow of the giant dragon statue loomed over him, its gleaming red eyes looked down upon him, jaw still wide open, ready to work its sharp canine teeth, blood dripping down. He hugged his father tightly, finally let out his cry. Fear and hopelessness once again flooded his mind, his tears blinded his sight. He sobbed loudly until he lost his voice. No matter how loud he was now, his father could no longer hear him.

Leon eventually lost all his energy and collapsed onto his father's lifeless body, oblivious to the man approaching him. His brain entered complete darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Char Siu 叉燒 is Cantonese barbequed pork, it's one kind of Siu Mei 燒味 (Cantonese style BBQ), you can find it everywhere in HK, sooo delicious
> 
> Wow, the angst. Trust me, I hate myself for doing this to my favourite characters. And yes, I tried to be as close to the original Mufasa Death Scene as possible and oh my word was it hard for me. The Lion King is my favourite Disney movie and that scene was the most tragic for me, now I'm forcing myself to relive it. WHY.
> 
> Anyway, I'm quite proud of this chapter, the action scene and the intensity were quite hard to write but I think I did okay, so yea! The lullaby is a Cantonese folk song everyone in HK knows called 月光光 (Bright Moonlight), it just suddenly popped up in my mind and I thought it could work in the scene. The lyrics were basically all described in the chapter. (edit: oof 3 months later im kinda cringing, but I still like Leon's scene a lot, hope i can do better later smh)
> 
> I didn't plan Leon's perspective but then this happened and it's my favourite scene so far! I'm quite proud of myself!
> 
> Oh yes, Iggy's a blacksmith, she's a badass.
> 
> (1 or at most 2 more chapters we will get to the hongice please be patient!)


End file.
